(CHRISTCHURCH, NZ) It is with great pleasure that the New Zealand Women’s Lacrosse Association can confirm that Kari Jones has been appointed as Head Coach of the 2017 World Cup NZBLAX Team (New Zealand Women’s Senior Squad).
Kari Jones named Head Coach of the
2017 World Cup NZBLAX Team by NZWLA
Kari’s passion, focus and dedication to the sport and her strategic vision for the future of women’s lacrosse were some of the key deciding factors for the panel.
There were over 20 applications for the role of Head Coach with several from US Division I Coaches. After 3 weeks of interviews, consultation and requesting seven of the applicants to put forward their World Cup Plan, Kari’s abilities as a coach shone through and it was a unanimous decision by the panel to offer her the role.
We look forward to working with Kari as she now puts together her Management Team and her plan for 2017 campaign.
Congratulations.
Posting on New Zealand Lacrosse website: Kari Jones Appointed as Head Coach of NZBLAX
Contact:
Name: Hannah Doney
Title: President NZWLA
Phone: 027 511 9058
Email: hannah.doney@gmail.com
About NZ Lacrosse
New Zealand Amateur Lacrosse Union (‘NZALU’)
This is the governing body for all Lacrosse in New Zealand. The Men’s and the Women’s NZ Associations are affiliated with the NZALU.
New Zealand Lacrosse Association (‘NZLA’)
Governing body for all Men’s Lacrosse in New Zealand to which all men’s clubs are affiliated.
New Zealand Women’s Lacrosse Association (‘NZWLA’)
Governing body for all Women’s Lacrosse in New Zealand to which all women’s clubs are affiliated.
History of Lacrosse in New Zealand
Over a decade ago, a few English and American ex-pats found each other through searching links in New Zealand to their favourite sport. Their reluctance to give up their extra appendages (their lacrosse sticks) instigated the passion to start and grow the sport in New Zealand. In 2000, a men’s senior league was started in Auckland, and a year later, the New Zealand Women’s Lacrosse Association was formed and a women’s league was established.
The efforts of the original founders resulted in tremendous growth in schools, clubs and national representative teams. Over the last decade, lacrosse has been integrated into many schools’ athletic curriculum, with over 20 schools and 500 players participating in the Auckland Secondary Schools League. We also estimate at least 900 school children across New Zealand are learning and playing the sport, or its modified version, ‘Modcrosse,’ at youth level each year.
National leagues are constantly growing with associations in Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton and Canterbury. Club teams from each region compete in the official National Tournament held annually in January.
Just five years after its inception, the New Zealand Women’s Lacrosse Association sent the first Women’s National Team to the IFWLA World Cup in 2005 – the ultimate competition in the women’s lacrosse world. In 2002, the New Zealand Men’s Lacrosse Association sent its first men’s team to the ILF World Cup. Further, the BLAX’s growth is fostered by the Under-19 National Squad, who competed for the first time in 2007 at the Junior World Championships and the Development Squad. The men’s Under-19 team has sent teams to Melbourne for the Australian Under 17 tournament.
But the history of lacrosse in New Zealand goes back very far into the late nineteenth century. As early as 1885, teams were actively competing all over the country. However, the arrival of World War I and the dominance of rugby as New Zealand’s most popular contact sport took over and we have few, if any, records of the game in the mid-twentieth century. — more —
